Background: Breastfeeding provides health benefits to both women and children. The rationale behind an individual woman's decision to breastfeed or not can depend on several factors, either independently or in combination. The aim of the current study was to explore attitudes towards breastfeeding among pregnant women in Sweden who intend to breastfeed. Methods: Eleven mothers-to-be, one of whom had previous breastfeeding experience, participated in the study. The women were interviewed either by telephone or face-to-face during late pregnancy, with the aim of exploring their attitudes towards breastfeeding. A semi-structured interview-guide was used, and the transcripts of the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The social ecological model of health is the theory-based framework underpinning this study. The model provides a comprehensive approach to understanding the factors that influence breastfeeding intention. Results: When interviewed during pregnancy, women described breastfeeding as a balancing act between societal norms and personal desires. The women perceived a societal pressure to breastfeed, however it was accompanied by boundaries and mixed messages. This perceived pressure was balanced by their own knowledge of breastfeeding, in particular their knowledge of other women's experience of breastfeeding. When envisioning their future breastfeeding, the women made uncertain and preliminary plans, and negotiated the benefits and drawbacks of breastfeeding. There was a wish for individual breastfeeding support and information. Conclusions: Pregnant Swedish women perceive their future breastfeeding as a balancing act between societal norms and personal desires. These findings suggest that while discussing breastfeeding during pregnancy, it could be of interest to collect information from pregnant women on their knowledge of breastfeeding and from where they have gained this knowledge, since stories from family and friends may make them question their own capacity to breastfeed. A thorough review of the woman's experiences and attitudes of breastfeeding is important in order to offer the best evidence-based breastfeeding support. Trial registration: Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Regional Ethical Review Board in Uppsala (Dnr: 2017/256).
Lone mothers are a diverse group but it has been argued in the previous research that they tend to be homogenised. This article explores representations of single mothers in Swedish newspapers. Material from the two largest morning papers and the two largest tabloids was collected from the years 2015-2017. The results of the study suggest that although the newspaper representations do not fully reflect the diversity of social realities, there are indeed varying images of lone mothers in the sample. A recurring representation is as a comparatively poor and hardworking-even heroic-woman, who in political argumentation is referred to as someone in need of societal support and policy reforms. A less frequent representation, that often occurs in lengthy, in-depth pieces, is the affluent official person who despite her prosperity struggles with combining single (good) motherhood with her career, or the middle-class woman who becomes a lone mother via assisted reproductive technologies. Teenage motherhood (i.e., age), race/ethnicity, sexuality, and welfare dependence are seldom, if at all, alluded to. There is no vilification or condemnation of the lone mother, as has been found in research on other national contexts.
This article offers an analysis of three popular Swedish handbooks for new parents, written by authors in the "media class." In these texts breastfeeding as a gendered, embodied practice collides with the Swedish ideal of genderequal parenting. The analysis explores the various ways that gendered bodies, gendered (parental) rights, and gender equality figure in the handbooks, drawing upon feminist studies of bodies and embodiment, and of breastfeeding in particular. It contextualizes the primary texts in terms of the Swedish ideal of gender-equal parenting, and in terms of current breastfeeding practices in Sweden. In the handbooks, the "breastfeeding imperative" is resisted because it is irrelevant and constraining for women, but also because it alienates fathers from infant feeding. Breastfeeding is ultimately rejected for reasons grounded in differences between gendered parental bodies, and particular understandings of gender-equal parenting. We contend that the books' suggestion that breastfeeding be rejected in the name of parental gender equality, while it may cause women to feel physically free, also supports fathers' rights discourses and in fact serves to (once more) marginalize women's bodies, straight and queer.
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